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HOLIDAY WEEKEND EDITION: Hanoi Jane is holding climate protests every Friday in DC to honor that little Swedish twit Greta Thumberg, the 16 year old with all the answers...

How to Use a Spectrum Analyzer

Spectrum analysers are a key form of test isntrument for RF designers and radio amateurs. Unlike an oscilloscope that displays amplitude against time, spectrum analyzers display amplitude against frequency giving a plot of the signals in the frequency domain.

Looking at the control panel of a spectrum analyzer, there are very many different controls to use and this may appear daunting to some. Analogue spectrum analyzers often had controls that needed to be used in conjunction with each other. Fortunately, today, the digitally based spectrum analyzers are processor controlled and these controls are linked to provide the optimum selection, making the use of spectrum analyzers much easier. They also have a variety of pre-installed routines that can make some tests very much easier.

Find out all about how to use a spectrum analyzer - including a video showing the use of the various controls and their use on this test instrument: https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/test-methods/spectrum-analyzer/how-to-use-spectrum-analyzer-operation.php

The Doctor Will See You Now!

ARRL

“Antenna EnTRAPment! All about Traps” is the topic of the new (October 10) episode of the ARRL The Doctor is In podcast. Listen...and learn!

Sponsored by DX Engineering, ARRL The Doctor is In is an informative discussion of all things technical. Listen on your computer, tablet, or smartphone — whenever and wherever you like!

Every 2 weeks, your host, QST Editor-in-Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, and the Doctor himself, Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will discuss a broad range of technical topics. You can also email your questions to doctor@arrl.org, and the Doctor may answer them in a future podcast.

Enjoy ARRL The Doctor is In on Apple iTunes, or by using your iPhone or iPad podcast app (just search for ARRL The Doctor is In). You can also listen online at Blubrry, or at Stitcher (free registration required, or browse the site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or Android devices. If you’ve never listened to a podcast before, download our beginner’s guide. 

Foundations of Amateur Radio

As you might know I enjoy doing contests, actually that's an understatement; I LOVE doing contests. I think that they represent an excellent way to learn about operating procedure, propagation, band selection, antenna direction, callsign recognition and dealing with adverse operating environments. In short, I think that contesting teaches you lots about amateur radio in a very short time.

That said, doing a contest, or learning from a contest is challenging and for a new amateur it can be absolutely daunting.

If you have the luxury of a club station, you're familiar with the following picture.

Bunch of people sitting around in the shack, one person operating the radio. If the operator has their headset on, the conversation in the shack will be about life the universe and everything. If the operator isn't wearing a headset, the conversation in the shack will also be about life the universe and everything with the radio blaring in the background and the operator initially asking people to keep quiet so they could discern that elusive DX station, frustration growing with every contact.

Being at your own station might not be much different. Replace shack with home and the people in the shack with your family and you get the picture.

If you step into that environment as a new amateur you'll get a sense of camaraderie, but little in the way of contesting knowledge. If you're lucky you might have someone point out what's happening, but quickly the conversation is likely to turn to other topics. It's hard to participate when you can only hear half the conversation.

Recently I did another contest. As I said, I love them, so why not? I invited two new amateurs to the party. They arrived separately at different times and had vastly different experiences. My first guest got to see the back of my head whilst I called "CQ Contest VK6FLAB", followed by "NK8O, you are 59020", then "104, CQ Contest VK6FLAB".

My second guest got to hear the whole contact.

"CQ Contest VK6FLAB", "NK8O" "NK8O, you are 59020", "VK6FLAB you are 59104" "104, CQ Contest VK6FLAB".

In both cases I was wearing a headset, but in the case of my second guest I'd finally achieved something that I'd been aching to achieve for years. I managed to combine the best of both worlds. The radio audible in the shack and the operator wearing a headset, at the same time.

My intent has always been to get this to work, but radio after radio, configuration after configuration, shack after shack, this seemed to be a doomed attempt at getting my fellow amateurs to understand why this was important and how we might implement this. One of the radios in the past had a Headphones plus Speaker option, but it wasn't ideal and as I recall, it handled sub-receivers poorly, not to mention the menu shenanigans required to actually make it work. The current radio in the club-shack is typical of radios today. Headphones or Speakers, not both. This radio has an Ethernet port, so there was talk of using Voice over IP and extracting it to multiple destinations. This conversation went on for a while.

I then hit on the idea of using computer speakers, tweaking them by clipping the wire that mutes the speaker when you insert headphones.

In the end, the solution was much nicer, much simpler and easy to implement for any radio with a headphone socket. I confess that I cannot believe it was this simple, but it was.

Get yourself a Y-adaptor. It's basically a headphone splitter. You can get them almost anywhere, supermarket, petrol station, electronics store, anywhere that sells mobile phone accessories to teenagers who want to share their music with their friends.

Plug the Y-adaptor plug into the radio headphone socket. Plug your headphone into one of the Y-adaptor sockets and plug some powered computer speakers into the other Y-adaptor socket. Set the volume on the radio for your headset as needed and adjust the computer speaker volume as required.

End result is an operator who can hear the contact and a shack that can teach a new amateur about what's going on.

Bliss.

Feedback from guest number two - this changed everything and he learnt a great deal after that.

Mission accomplished.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2189

TOKELAU ISLAND DXPEDITION GOES QRT EARLY

JIM/ANCHOR: In our top story this week, the pileups ended earlier than expected for the Tokelau Island DXpedition. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF has the details.

JIM M: The Tokelau Island DXPedition has cut its stay short after 7 days of operations on the island, logging an estimated 50,000 QSOs. The ZK3A team reported in an October 8th Facebook post that they were shutting down that same day -- going QRT a few days earlier than their intended end date of October 11th. The Facebook post noted that all the team members were well but because the boat was returning earlier than planned to take an ailing person on the island for assistance, the team opted to pack up early. According to the team's posting, another boat would not have been by to retrieve them for 10 more days. In an earlier post made on October 8th, the team wrote of its thousands of successful contacts, noting that QSOs had been made on CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8 and 6m EME. Slightly fewer than a dozen contacts were also made on SSTV.

**

BUILDING OF ICONIC DAYTON BUSINESS IS SOLD

JIM/ANCHOR: If you've ever been to Hamvention, you probably visited one huge business in Dayton that hams didn't want to miss - and now, it seems they will. Phil Thomas W8RMJ has the details.


PHIL: Mendelsohns, located on East First Street in Dayton Ohio, has been sold. A surplus reseller business encompassing an eight-story building visited by amateur radio operators from all over the world while attending Hamvention each May will be no more once a huge sale of 50 percent of its contents is completed.

It was once said if you couldn't find it in Mendelsohns it could not be found.
Mendelsohns carried everything from office equipment to restaurant merchandise, electronic parts, computers, building supplies and much much more. Believe it or not, the store even had an F-16 flight simulator.

Developer Crawford Hoying has purchased the Mendelsohn building located at 340 East First Street which has 555,000 square feet making it the largest redevelopment project currently in Dayton, Ohio, It outrivals the massive redevelopment project currently undergoing in the Dayton Arcade project in Dayton, Ohio.

Built in the 1920s, the Mendelsohn building once housed part of General Motors' presence in Dayton, Ohio.

Sandy Mendelsohn, 74, is retiring but the Mendelsohn name is being retained by the family. They still own a building on East Third and Keowee Street and the family could possibly move the business to that location.

NY AMATEUR FACING $17,000 PENALTY FROM FCC

JIM/ANCHOR: A New York City amateur radio operator charged with interference has been ordered by the FCC to pay a hefty fine. Heather Embee KB3TZD has that story.

HEATHER: The FCC's Enforcement Bureau has proposed a penalty of $17,000 against a New York City radio amateur whose on-air operations have spurred numerous complaints from hams alleging interference. The bureau's announcement on October 3rd said that Harold Guretzsky K6DPZ had been issued numerous warnings in writing from the bureau and that the proposed penalty reflects his status as a repeat offender. The bureau said the complaints charge him with interference on a local repeater in Glen Oaks, a section of the New York City borough of Queens. The bureau noted that on one occasion in 2018 an agent from the FCC's New York Office was able to observe him interfering on the repeater's input of 146.25 MHz and the repeater's output on 146.850 MHz.

The bureau ordered him to pay the forfeiture in full or file a written statement requesting its cancellation or reduction within no more than 30 days of the date of the Notice of Apparent Liability.

The FCC website lists the Richmond Hill, Queens resident as having an Extra Class license that is set to expire on July 3rd of 2020.

**

HAMS PREP FOR AUTUMN'S BIG SOTA QSO PARTY

JIM/ANCHOR: Don't expect poor band conditions and challenging terrain to stand in the way of one special summit-to-summit QSO Party. Ed Durrant DD5LP has been following that story.

ED: With just over a week to go, SOTA activators are checking their gear and access routes to their chosen summit for the upcoming Europe - Asia - Australasia Summit-to-Summit QSO party. This event has become a regular over the last few years, occurring twice a year, once in Spring and once in Autumn around the time that the clocks are changed. The intention of the event is to get as many activators in the three regions on summits as possible to try for intercontinental summit to summit QSOs using battery powered portable equipment and aerials.

This autumn's event is scheduled for Saturday the 19th of October starting around 06:30 UTC. This year will be the most difficult so far
with radio conditions being the worst they have been in years but that doesn't put off these activators. They know there's a chance of contacts if they are on the right band at the right time. While the majority of QSOs will be on SSB or CW, there are also a few intrepid operators trying out FT8 and other digital modes as well from their SOTA
registered hilltops.

**
COUNTDOWN TO JAMBOREE ON THE AIR

JIM/ANCHOR: Radio Scouts are ready for the countdown to Jamboree on the Air. Bill Stearns NE4RD fills us in.

BILL: This week in radio scouting we're one week away from the worlds largest scouting event, Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the Internet. From October 18th through the 20th, all modes all bands is the travel free jamboree. This is not a contest, but an opportunity for scouts from around the world to contact each other through the Internet and the Amateur Radio bands.

While this is a scouting specific event, all amateurs are encouraged to participate in any way they can. Scouts ultimately need to talk with other scouts, but with our current up and down band conditions, any contact will be appreciated. For those of you who have committed to scouting for this special event, this is a great opportunity to work with youth and show the best of Amateur Radio as a life long hobby. For those of you providing contacts, it's also an opportunity for you to share your Amateur Radio experience and any history you have with Scouting.

You will hear the K2BSA callsign on the air portable from the various call areas including: K2BSA/0 in Knob Noster, MO, K2BSA/1 in Lenox, MA, K2BSA/2 in East Greenbush, NY, K2BSA/3 in Wilmington, DE, K2BSA/4 in Brooksville, FL, K2BSA/5 in Lewisville, TX, K2BSA/6 in Paso Robles, CA, K2BSA/8 in Wheeling, WV, K2BSA/9 in Milwaukee, WI, and K2BSA/KP4 in San Juan, PR.

Whether you're one person or a hundred people, it is imperative that you register your station. If you register and send in a report following the event, you'll have an opportunity to win an ID-51A Plus2 VHF/UHF D-STAR portable graciously provided by Icom America. Get registered and be prepared!

For more information on this and radio scouting, please visit our website at k2bsa.net.

For Amateur Radio Newsline and the K2BSA Amateur Radio Associ

**
QSOs AT PACIFICON FLY HIGH IN THE SKY

JIM/ANCHOR: The skydiving hams of Parachute Mobile are back for their final jump of the season and Jack Parker W8ISH has those details.

JACK: When Pacificon, the ARRL's Pacific Division Convention comes to town at California's San Ramon Marriott on October 19th, one group of hams will be diving right into the action. Literally diving - out of a plane over a nearby drop zone and into the sky. Team member Rob Fenn KC6TYD said this will mark Mission 37, the last mission of this year for the Parachute Mobile Hams. If you want to try for a QSO with these airborne contacts, be listening locally on 146.430 MHz simplex. If you're out of town the hams will be making contacts on EchoLink node NE6RD-L and on 20 meters at 14.250 MHz. Of course conventioneers will get a first crack at the QSOs from the GOTA station at the Marriott Hotel, which will also have an information table about the skydiving team.

After that, the hams in the sky will be taking all calls from anywhere. For more details, visit their website at parachutemobile dot org.

**
ATTRACTING YOUNG HAMS IN SWITZERLAND

JIM/ANCHOR: Some brainstorming is about to get underway in Switzerland to explore ways to attract young amateurs. Ed Durrant DD5LP has that report.

ED: Acknowledging a critical need in Switzerland for more young amateur radio operators, the Swiss amateur radio society, the USKA, is hosting a free symposium on October 19th to explore ways to infuse the hobby with enthusiastic youngsters. The Union of Swiss Shortwave Amateurs notes a slump in new young licensees in the past two years and hope that participants in the symposium can brainstorm and find ways to energize interest. For the past five years, the radio society has maintained a training fund and even offered grants for amateur radio education for youth. The society notes, however, that last year only one new licensee younger than 25 joined the radio society.

The symposium will take place in Bern and is also the annual meeting of the society's training coordinators.

**

NEW RULES FOR DUTCH SPECIAL EVENT CALLSIGNS

JIM/ANCHOR: There are new rules for Dutch hams who want special event callsigns. Jeremy Boot G4NJH fills us in.

JEREMY: In the Netherlands, special event callsigns are getting a new treatment as the result of changes that took effect on the 1st October. The Netherlands Communications regulator announced that it is extending the maximum period for which the callsigns are effective from 28 days to not exceeding one year. The regulator is also introducing faster means of requesting callsigns via its online portal. For the rest of this year, applicants need to request them at least three weeks before the event.

Starting on January 1st January 2020, however, the request can be made through the portal up to one day before the competition or event. These changes are updates to the Dutch telecom agency’s revisions of January 2018.

**

A FINANCIAL BOOST FOR YLs IN AUSTRALIA

JIM/ANCHOR: In Australia, there's some financial assistance for YLs looking to deepen their involvement in amateur radio, as we hear from Robert Broomhead VK3DN.

ROBERT: If you're a YL in Australia looking to upgrade your license to a Standard or Advanced level - or if you're hoping to successfully pass your Foundation examination, the Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association may be able to offer a grant to assist you with the costs. There are a limited number of grants available and they cover half the assessment fees, plus half the cost of licence fee for the new callsign. The grant includes a complimentary one-year membership in ALARA, which was formed in 1975 to encourage Australian women's participation in amateur radio. Membership has since grown to more than 200.

ALARA's website notes that grants will be paid once a YL has completed her qualification. Applications and documentation should be sent to the ALARA secretary Jean VK5TSX once the licence is issued.

**
SATELLITE PRIVILEGE EXTENDED FOR HAMS IN SPAIN

JIM/ANCHOR: Officials in Spain have extended amateurs' permission for use of the QO-100 satellite. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that report.

JEREMY: Amateur radio operators in Spain have been granted permission to use 2400 MHz for contact with the geostationary satellite Es'hail-2. The approval was given by the Secretary of State for Digital Advance and is an extension of permission granted last March that was to have expired on the 26th of September. According to the URE, the national amateur radio society of Spain, the extension grants permission through to the 26th of December 2020. The hams are restricted to a maximum EIRP of 1500 watts, using directional antennas with a gain of not more than 22.5 dBi

The satellite, also known as QO-100, was launched in November 2018 from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States and carries the world's first amateur radio transponders to be in a geostationary orbit.

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, be listening for Philippe, F1DUZ, using the callsign FG4KH from Guadeloupe between the 14th and 29th of October. You can hear him on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10 meters using SSB and FT8. QSL to his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

In Malta, Rene DL2JRM and Robert DM7XX are using the callsign 9H9XX during the Worked All Germany Contest on October 19th and 20th. Send QSLs to DL2JRM.

**

KICKER: REMEMBERING ROCKER LARRY JUNSTROM K4EG/SK

JIM/ANCHOR: The ham world and the music world have lost a major talent. For our final story, Paul Braun WD9GCO shares this tribute.

PAUL: Fans of classic Southern rock bands Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special are very familiar with the sound of the big man on the bass, Larry "LJ" Junstrom.

But hams also knew him as K4EB or, as his chosen phonetics went, "Known 4 Excellent Bass." Originally licensed in 1962, a
burgeoning music career sidetracked the hobby until 1990, when he decided to get back in and went from Novice to Extra in 10 months, all
while still touring. Junstrom was active on HF, but also very active on D-STAR as he carried a USB dongle with him on the road with the band.

But its the music he helped create with 38 Special that brought him fame and endeared him to fans all over the world. Fellow rocker Jim
Peterik of The Ides of March and formerly of Survivor, co-writer of 38 Special's biggest hits, had this to say about his old friend.

JIM PETERIK: He was just a classic Southern gentleman and an amazing bass player. We just got along really, really well -- everybody loved the guy. He's going to be missed by everybody that knew him.

So when I finally got the final mix of "Hold On Loosely," -- you know, I gave 38 Special a demo of it, and of course my bass playing is pretty primitive -- and I get the final mix and he's "walking!" What "walking" means in bass language is [hums example]. And at the end, LJ starts "walking" and at first I'm going, "Man, that's really old-school, man!" and I called him and said, "What'd you do that for?" and he said, "Man, that's just what I'm feelin'." And I went back and listened to it, and it's my favorite part of the song now.

PAUL: Larry Junstrom became a silent key on October 6, 2019. He was 70. For more about his ham radio experience, listen to Ham Nation episode #4, when he was a special guest.
 

Nearfest at 9am Friday morning, no rain or wind.....good crowd!

Nearfest weather is predicted to be decent on Friday, a change in the weather forecast. Good news....the NE Patriots may be 6-0 after last night but sure don't look like a championship team. Gronk made his debut as a sports announcer, what can I say? He is a clown, a wealthy one.....Space Weather Woman video....I received an email informing me the 75 meter swap net I heard the other night was part of the North Carolina SSB net, nice bunch of guys....I was listening on 75 yesterday and I saw a huge spike on my spectrum scope....and  who might  it be? Nope, not the infamous "Mud Duck" from the Cape Cod Canal but the immense signal from Don- BXB, no wonder they call him the "Bodacious" one...Nice signal Don, 40 over 9 from Cape Cod to here on Cape Ann...

Your sister didn't pick up her toys up like I asked her to, look at her now!

Amateur radio operator faces fine for blocking other amateurs

The In Compliance website report a New York amateur radio operator is facing the prospect of a major fine from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for deliberately interfering with other radio amateur operations.

The case against Harold Guretzky of Richmond Hill (Queens), NY is outlined in a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture issued by the FCC in early October. According to the Notice, Guretzky repeatedly caused interference to a nearby amateur repeater in 2017 and 2018, thereby preventing other amateur licensees from using the repeater and prompting the filing of “numerous” complaints with the Commission.

Despite several verbal and written warnings from agents of the Enforcement Bureau, Guretzky continued to interfere with the repeater until at least December 2018. In addition to preventing other amateur radio operators from conducting legitimate communications, Guretzky also reportedly made threatening comments to other operators. These actions led to the Commission’s decision to propose a penalty in the amount of $17,000 against Guretzky in connection with his violations of FCC rules.

Read the Commission’s Notice of Apparent Liability in connection with Guretzky.
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-989A1.pdf

Source:
https://incompliancemag.com/amateur-radio-operator-faces-fine-for-blocking-other-amateurs/

Ohio Sheriff Observes and Participates in ARES Simulated Emergency Test

ARRL

In Greene County, Ohio, one public official not only observed the ARES Simulated Emergency Test (SET) this month but participated in it with Greene County ARES (GCARES). Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer, KX8GCS (“Greene County Sheriff”), checked in when the Resource Net Control, Bob Baker, N8ADO, of Beavercreek, called for volunteers. Although the suggested scenario called for only using simplex, GCARES used the Xenia Amateur Radio Weather Net (XWARN) repeater to reach out for as many volunteers as possible. Net volunteers then switched to a simplex tactical net to communicate with the GCARES Command Center.

Before the SET, Fischer let Greene County ARES Emergency Coordinator Henry Ruminski, W8HJR, know that he planned to participate in the SET to determine how well his handheld radio would perform in an emergency situation. While he found it okay for getting into the resource net, it was less than adequate for effective simplex operation.

Sheriff Fischer had an intense introduction to ham radio in the spring of 2017 when the Dayton Hamvention® moved to Xenia, and his department dealt with traffic control and other issues created by the influx of more than 25,000 visitors.

At the urging of several hams, Fischer subsequently got his license, and his wife became relicensed. Fischer has since upgraded to General.

Ruminski said the SET was “relatively successful.” Signals could have been better from some locations, but most stations were able to communicate with command, he said. Lessons learned will be used to improve future emergency communication plans. — Thanks to Henry Ruminski, W8HJR 

THURSDAY EDITION: I heard a pretty good swap net on 3938 last night, not sure if it meets weekly or monthly. Some good items for sale.....Nearfest start tonight with camping and the fest is on Friday and Saturday, it looks like Saturday is the pick of the litter in regard to weather....

Lamps at a ham fest? Turns out they are 2/440 j-pole lamp antennas....not a bad idea!

Pitcairn Island DXpedition

On September 29th, the following was posted on the Pitcairn Island DXpedition VP6R Web page

We are pleased to announce our pilot station network for the Pitcairn Island DXpedition.
Our pilot station system is in place to relay your reports, concerns, and advise to us through our pilot stations. Initially, the information most important to us will be when we are being heard in your area. This is especially true if there are openings to more than one geographical area at the same time and one of those areas has strong signals that obscure stations calling from the other areas. We need to attend to those weaker signals and your reports will help us do that.

With time your band and mode needs will be relayed to us through our system. Constructive criticism is welcome as well. Our system is somewhat "Eurocentric," with north, south, east, and western Europe each having a representative in our system. We do this because needs for a VP6 contact are greater in Europe and European signals may be "under" stronger signals from other geographical areas.

Our chief and North American pilot is Jerry, WB9Z. He will be supported by JJ3PRT, OG2M, R7LV, G3XTT, EA3AKP, IK0FVC, NP4G, ZS1C, and ZL3IO.
Please go to our Pilots and Off-Island Team Members page for more details. We want you in our log and we want you to have fun working us.

On October 3rd, the following was also posted: We have added Lance, W7GJ, to our off island team. He will be our EME pilot, helping to maximize our effectiveness on 6 meter EME.

We have also formalized our FT8 protocol. You can find the details on the "How to Work VP6R" page. Read and study them carefully. We also suggest you use the link on this page to read "The FT8 DXpedition User Guide" by Joe Taylor, K1JT.

https://pitcairndx.com/news-and-updates

Comoros Island DXpedition

Members of the Mediterraneo DX Club (MDXC) will be active as D68CCC from Comoros Island (AF-007) between October 21st and November 2nd.

The following was posted on their FaceBook page October 1st:
Here we are! Yes just few steps more and the multinational team of the Mediterraneo Dx Club is ready to fire the radios with their signals from Comoros Islands under the callsign of D68CCC.

Their usual inter-national DXped will be on air from 21st October to 1st November. The leader IZ8CCW and the co-leader I2VGW are checking once again all items and so you make the same at home and be ready.

Donation will be very very welcomed and QSL via IK2VUC.
Official site: www.mdxc.org/d68ccc

WEDNESDAY EDITION: I received an email yesterday asking me why I sat in front of a radio all day and listened around the bands? Damn good question Sparky! I don't. I am busy during the day with the real estate business. Although officially retired and no longer an active Builder/ Realtor, I am still active on a  daily basis looking for potential projects and investments. I also visit my son's cabinetmaking shop and play with his CAD software and CAD router learning by doing little projects, visit my buddies hot rod shop, work on projects at the local radio club building, etc. I get most of my material for this blog from hams all over the country who shoot me emails and I publish them each morning.
 I do listen on 40/75 most nights after dinner while working in my office. I keep an Icom 7300 on the table and usually listen to different rag chew groups on 75 while doing paperwork, doing bread boarding circuits, watching TV, etc.....I do not sit and listen exclusively to the radio, it is on in the background...I have a scanner going and two digital hotspots as well....I guess I like a a lot of noise in the background.  If I  want to play radio, I go to my shack and run the Icom 7600 and Acom Amplifier and get serious mostly on cw on 20 meters
Last night while watching the Gold Reality shows and Mayans MC show in the office, I had the pleasure if listening to a true rag chew round table on 7182 run by Tom- W5RUB which happens every Tuesday night. The ragchew session is also telecast live on YouTube live and offers a live text line to throw in your comments and questions. Done professionally, no jammers, and no child like excessive id'ing. Last night the guest speaker was none other than retired FCC lawyer Riley Hollingsworth and the Martin from MFJ. Riley spoke on the OO replacement program he is heading up and you could ask any questions you had...he covered it all! If you search on YouTube under W5RUB you can replay the event and listen at your leisure.

So why the hell do I do this blog? I have the time, enjoy the hobby, have hundreds of "ears" on the airwaves, lots of contacts in the industry.....and I feel like it. I have been using IPFingerprint to identify who checks my website, interesting who checks in....some of the biggest complainers of my page and  loud mouths in ham radio.

Summary of what IPFingerprint tells you....

Business identity and contact details, Visitor source (Google, campaign link, Facebook, Google Ads, etc…), Page views and visit duration, Business and individual email addresses, etc.....

New UK Entry Level Licence proposed

RSGB VHF Manager John Regnault G4SWX has set out his proposal for a new Entry Level amateur radio licence

John's proposal was posted on the RSGB-Workshop reflector and this copy of the post has been provided with his permission:

There has been lots of discussion on this reflector and elsewhere from amateurs that do not think that the hobby should be allowed to change because they like things the way that they imagined that they used to be!

The basic FACT is this reluctance to change, the desire to involve radio clubs (stranglehold?) in the exam process and a number of elected RSGB people who are afraid of what the membership might think is assisting the hobby along to a slow death.

I have a really hard job justifying the VHF/UHF bands based on their current usage. Yet I have amateurs saying that we need more repeater channels when many of the repeaters in operation are rarely used.

There is an increasing need to attract a greater number of younger age people into amateur radio. The current 3 tier licence regime; Foundation, Intermediate, Full, whilst it is maintaining a steady annual number of candidates has, over recent years seen a marked decline in attracting younger people. In 2006 25% of Foundation exam candidates were under 21 years of age by 2013 this had declined to 14%, today it is even lower.

I am a highly technical radio amateur, yet I see plenty of room for people in the hobby with no technical skills whatsoever. The amateur radio hobby embraces aspects of both technology and personal development in communications. To date the amateur examination has required all candidates to demonstrate an understanding of radio technology which might be appropriate as the amateur licence permits modification and manufacture of transmitting equipment. This technical requirement can be a significant perceived barrier to younger people who otherwise would like to investigate radio communications beyond the capabilities offered by licence free CB or PMR446 transceivers. There are many other facets of the hobby that are about communicating and personal development in communications rather than building and modifying radio equipment. Technical skills, just as operating procedures, Morse if you like, can be learnt once somebody is hooked into the hobby.

So how about this: A Proposal for a Beginner Amateur Licence

A low-power VHF/UHF (144/430 MHz) entry class 'Beginner Amateur’ licence

• Targeted at newcomers and offering opportunity for involvement by youth organisations.
• Amateur Callsigns  
• A relatively simple online examination with a pass certificate issued by the RSGB.
• A clear path for further progression with the online ‘Beginner’ exam being accepted as exemption/credits for part of the Foundation exam
• Equipment to be used will be limited to low power, 5W output, <25W ERP, CE approved VHF/UHF FM/Digital Voice transceivers. (To protect other users of the VHF spectrum in the UK and nearby nations)
• Equipment to be unmodified
• Abuse identified by AROS will result in licence revocation
• Callsigns issued to use an additional letter to clearly identify ‘Beginner ‘licensees.
• ‘Beginner’ licensees to be permitted to operate amateur club stations under supervision of a full licensee.
• Process administered by RSGB with weekly updates provided to Ofcom
• Launch initiated by RSGB including outreach by local radio clubs to forge links with youth organisations.
• RSGB to investigate whether ‘Beginner’ amateur licence could be accepted as part of personal development and training by established youth organisations (Scouts, Air Cadets etc)
• Minimal cost of administration for Ofcom
• The training and development of communications skills by young people taking up a ‘Beginner’ amateur license will ensue additional benefit to ‘UK plc’.

Vital work of WWV at Fort Collins, Colorado

Broadcaster KUNC reports that a little-known radio station in Fort Collins might one day save the world

An array of radio towers sits behind security fences amid farms and pastures north of Fort Collins. This is home to WWV, the country's oldest radio call letters. The station's high-frequency broadcasts can be heard around the globe if you have the right kind of radio.

Now playing: pulsing sounds, every second, followed by an announcement of the exact time.

The station is run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, which is home to the atomic clock. WWV is capable of more than telling time. It could, if need be, save the world.

"Could be," said Elizabeth Donley, chief of NIST's Time and Frequency Division. "It's an important part of our work."

This year the station conducted communications exercises in coordination with the Department of Defense. Thirty-seven states, National Guard units, emergency management agencies and others participated in simple announcements. They were meant to see how many listeners are out there and how far away they can be reached. The answer: there are thousands of listeners as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

Mark Jensen, a civilian planner with U.S. Northern Command, the military's homeland security operation in Colorado Springs, called WWV a "most essential asset to our nation."

Should an emergency arise, volunteers would jump into action. They're part of a program the military dubs MARS, which stands for Military Auxiliary Radio System. While jokes abound that the operators should not be confused for Martians, their work is serious. It's doomsday stuff, like responding to the aftermath of a nuclear attack because the associated electromagnetic pulse could wipe out most communications.

Listen to program and read the full story at
https://www.kunc.org/post/how-little-known-radio-station-fort-collins-might-one-day-save-world

Arctic aurora surprise

Who needs sunspots?
Yesterday, the spotless sun sparked an outburst of Arctic auroras right in the middle of Solar Minimum.

A crack opened in Earth's magnetic field, exposing our planet's magnetosphere to the solar wind. The resulting display of Northern Lights took forecasters and sky watchers by surprise.

Learn more about this phenomenon on today's edition of Spaceweather.com.

Tokelau Islands ZK3A DXpedition Ceases Operation Early

ARRL

Due to the illness of a ZK3A Tokelau Islands DXpedition team member, the operation has shut down a couple of days ahead of schedule.

“ALL TEAM MEMBERS ARE FINE!” said an announcement on the ZK3A website. “A person on the island is ill. So, they have sent the boat there early to get this person medical help. The team has ceased operations and [is] packing up all equipment to get on that boat, because there will not be another boat for ten days.” The announcement did not identify the ailing team member.

As of October 8, ZK3A had logged approximately 50,000 contacts in 7 days of operation on CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8, and EME, as well as 10 contacts on slow-scan TV. The DXpedition had been set to

Milwaukee Radio Amateurs’ Club Celebrates Centennial of ARRL Affiliation

ARRL

Members of the Milwaukee Radio Amateurs’ Club (MRAC) celebrated the radio club’s 100th anniversary of ARRL affiliation during the 2019 ARRL Central Division Convention, held September 27 – 28. The convention, held during the HRO Superfest, was hosted by Ham Radio Outlet at its Milwaukee location

MRAC was formed in January 1917. In 1919, after World War I, ARRL introduced the concept of having local radio clubs officially affiliate with ARRL to formalize a network for relaying message traffic from coast to coast. MRAC was granted ARRL affiliation on December 5, 1919, as one of a group of 10 clubs. In 1970, MRAC was recognized as the only one of that first group of clubs that was still active, making it the oldest ARRL-affiliated club.

MRAC sponsored the first-ever ARRL Central Division Convention in 1928, and it organized an ARRL National Convention in 1948. The club produced a video in 2017 that recounts its rich history.

MRAC today has a full calendar of annual activities that include regular club meetings featuring speakers and presentations covering a variety of topics. The club participates in ARRL Field Day each June, conducts regular license exam sessions, and holds an annual swapfest. A group of club members are currently developing an Amateur Satellite station and related resources, which they plan to use to support a local school as part of an educational outreach program. Club members are also Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteers, supporting public service communication for events throughout the region and during emergencies.

The MRAC affiliation centennial attracted members and guests for a celebration during the Central Division Convention banquet on Saturday, September 28. Those attending included ARRL Central Division Director Kermit Carlson, W9XA; Vice Director Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA; Section Managers Patrick Moretti, KA1RB (Wisconsin); Ron Morgan, AD9I (Illinois); and Jimmy Merry Jr., KC9RPX (Indiana), and ARRL staff members CEO Howard Michel, WB2ITX; Marketing and Communications Manager Kathleen Callahan, and Product Development Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R.

Michel, Carlson, and Luetzelschwab honored the club by presenting a plaque to MRAC Club President David Schank, KA9WXN, on behalf of the ARRL Central Division.    

 

TUESDAY EDITION: Yesterday was a no radio zone day. I cleaned a gutter on the back of the house and started putting the flower beds to rest for the winter, and watched a movie. Prime Video offered the movie "The Love Letter" for free this month and it has a little history with us. This movie was shot in Rockport in 1999, as have a dozen more, and at the time we owned the Linden Tree Inn and one of the young female actors stayed with us for a month. My youngest son, Tim, just out of college...and work...got a job in the movie as a technical assistant (which means he was a grunt and did whatever the hell he was asked to do and was on call 24 hours a day.  The stars were Tom Selleck, Kate Kapshaw, Ellen DeGeneres,....and the girl that stayed with us was named Julianne Nicholson. The movie sucked but it showed the beauty of Rockport and pretty much showed how life is here....twenty years behind times. Tom Selleck asked my son to sneak him someplace out of Rockport for a drink because he was going stir crazy without anyone else knowing....so he picked him up that night, he was staying just down the street in a rented condo on the ocean. When he got there Ellen was with him and Tim drove them both out to Salem, MA for a clam dinner and drinks. My son said he had a ball and Ellen was a riot....and he got a free meal. Tim gained 10 pounds that month, food is provided on the set 24 hours a day when filming....and I mean good food, prime rib, etc......Yes, I got to meet Tom Selleck in person, his hot water heater shit the bed and I got a call from a fellow inn owner to go look at it. He answered the door in shorts and an armless t-shirt and looked just like "Magnum"...down to earth guy. The owner had just opened the unit up from the winter and in his excitement of renting it to Tom Selleck, turned on the winterized hot water heater's electricity before turning on the water---fried the hot water element. Simple repair....and Tom drank Rolling Rock beer!

Email today regarding the repair we made to the radio club beam:

A common problem with Mosley antennas is element to boom slippage.  To cure this a simple muffler clamp placed on the boom a short distance from the element with the threads facing the same direction as the element clamp . then take a copper pipe hangar with the series of holes in it cut the hangar end off so you now have 2 straps with many holes in it  Place the straps on each element clamp thread  so the are floating on the threads. You cross over the 2 straps  and attach to the muffler clamp so the straps are under the clamp.  it works this way for every action there is a opposite reaction , the crossed straps cancel each other out.
you can also use this on a rotor to mast situation where you want to keep the mast from slipping in the rotor . clamp on the mast to crossed over straps to the 2 top u bolts on the rotor.
I have been doing this here at nr1r for 35 years and all elements on my 9 hf monoband yagis are perfect   73  ray

From amateur radio buff to NASA's go-to guy

ABC News article about radio amateur Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI says 'NASA considers this 80-year-old radio buff part of the astronaut family'

ABC News say:
To NASA personnel, he is VK5ZAI. To his neighbours at Pinks Beach, a small coastal town in South Australia, he goes by Tony.

In his 30-year association with the US space agency, Tony Hutchison has been called upon to help in times of crisis, moderate calls between astronauts and their families, and run a worldwide schools program.

He's shared a beer with first commanders, had barbecues with mission specialists, and watched the space shuttle launch from the bleachers at Kennedy Space Centre.

Looking back, it's a life he never expected.

Mr Hutchison, 80, fell in love with radio at age 10, had his amateur radio licence by 21, and became involved with satellite communication a few years later.

In October 1992 he made his first contact in space — cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev U6MIR onboard the Mir space station.

Read the well-illustrated ABC story at
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-06/nasa-considers-amateur-radio-buff-part-of-astronaut-family/11530046

Coaxial cables summary

All radio amateurs use coax and often quite a bit of it. Not only is it used for connecting between units in the shack, but it is also used, normally as the feeder of choice for taking the transmitter power to the antenna and conversely the received signals from the antenna to the receiver.

The performance of the feeder is crucial to the overall performance of the station. It is easy to lose significant amounts of power between the station and the antenna. Even a modest run of cable can see losses of 3dB and more dependent upon the length, frequency and the performance of the coax.

Coax can be surprisingly expensive, especially when long runs are required. Understanding the key aspects of coaxial cable as well as hints and tips for its use can ensure that the optimum choice is made for the coax, it is used in the best way, and also installed in such a way that it lasts as long as possible. 

Read more about the key aspects of coaxial cable from the basic way in which it works to aspects like velocity factor, loss, and installation etc
:
https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/antennas-propagation/rf-feeders-transmission-lines/rf-coaxial-feeder-cable.php

AO-7 to enter full illumination period October 9, 2019

On or about October 9, AO-7 will enter a period of full illumination that will last until approximately December 2.

During this time, the satellite's onboard timer should switch it between Mode A (145 MHz uplink / 29 MHz downlink) and Mode B (432 MHz uplink / 145 MHz downlink) every 24 hours.

To check or report the satellite's current mode, please see the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page at
https://www.amsat.org/status/.

Reporting observations during the first few days of the full illumination period will be helpful for determining the approximate time of the daily mode change.

Historical information on AO-7's systems, including the functioning of the 24 hour timer, and operational plans can be found in the AMSAT-OSCAR 7 Technical Operations Plan And Experimenter's Guide, available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-AO-7.

Anna Brummer, N2FER, Feted on her 105th Birthday

10/07/2019

When she turned 80, Anna Brummer, N2FER, of Fort Edward, New York, predicted she would live to be 100. On September 27, she topped her own forecast by 5 years, as she celebrated her birthday at the Fort Hudson Nursing Center, surrounded by family and friends. The only thing she wanted was a drink of Scotch whiskey, and the nursing home obliged, along with a slice of cake. Unit Manager Donna Hopkins told Post Star newspaper reporter Gretta Hochsprung that she didn’t attempt to put 105 candles on Brummer’s cake because it would have been a fire hazard. Brummer told Hochsprung that the secret to longevity is being nice to people.

“Keeps you young when everything’s going smooth,” she told the reporter.

Anna Brummer was a latecomer to Amateur Radio. In 1984, her son Richard, K2JQ (ex-K2REB), got his mom and his dad, Edwin, interested in Amateur Radio, and Anna obtained her Technician license when she was 69 years old. Edwin Brummer, who died in 1996, was N2FEQ, and held a Tech Plus ticket. They were married for 56 years.

Anna Brummer was born in the Bronx and went on to work as a sales clerk at Kresge’s, making $12 a week. When Kresge’s folded, she became a school cafeteria worker in Massapequa on Long Island.

Richard Brummer, who described his mother as “very loving,” said she definitely has a will to live.

No official records are kept, but Anna Brummer is among a small circle of centenarian radio amateurs in the US and may be the oldest woman now holding a license. Cliff Kayhart, W4KKP, of South Carolina, appears to be the oldest active US radio amateur at 107. Arlene “Buddy” Clay, KL7OT, lived to be 103.

MONDAY EDITION: What's new in ham radio? Well Nearfest is this Friday and Saturday in NH which means it should be pouring out by Thursday night followed by cold and brisk winds. Also the Friendly Fools are having a shindig at the Mountain down south, oh boy what wholesome back slapping fun that will be! I bet they are still looking for the hidden pictures....

Ecocapsule....only $88k

The Ecocapsule is the luxury solution to this problem, a portable, fully self-sufficient mobile home that you can park in any remote area your wanderlust desires and live off-the-grid. It’s like camping, except not at all, because you’ll never be without electricity or a real toilet.

Fitting up to two people, the Ecocapsule’s 88 square feet layout, featuring a kitchenette, folding bed with mattress, desk/dining table, cabinets and full bathroom, takes the tiny home trend to the next level.

Designed to leave no ecological footprint, the mobile home doesn’t need to connect to an outer power source. Instead it relies on high-efficiency solar panels and a low-noise, extendable wind turbine for electricity 24/7. Let's see, if I normally spend $150 a night at a hotel, I should break even with this pile of plastic in just 586 nights.....brilliant idea!

Saturday job at the radio club in Gloucester, repaired the twisted element on the new beam....and only
$900 for the rental lift!

Signal Identification Guide

This wiki is intended to help identify radio signals through example sounds and waterfall images. Most signals are received and recorded using a software defined radio such as the RTL-SDR, Airspy, SDRPlay, HackRF, BladeRF, Funcube Dongle, USRP or others.

High-speed network for first responders raises concerns

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The police chief of Alaska's largest city hurried out of the department's glass building after the ground began to shake. Phone lines jammed and even police radios were spotty after a major earthquake, but his cellphone was recently equipped with a national wireless network dedicated to first responders.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll was able to reach other officials who had the new high-speed connection after the 7.1 magnitude quake last year caused widespread damage.

It proved to be a trial run in Alaska for the FirstNet network, which Doll and other commanders had just signed on to test with their personal cellphones. The crucial calls made possible by FirstNet helped first responders set up an emergency operations center and coordinate the response to the Nov. 30 earthquake.

"It was just random chance that we had started sort of testing this a little bit right before the earthquake happened," Doll said. "I felt a lot more confident rolling it out to the whole agency after we had that kind of trial by fire with the earthquake with just a few phones. I was like, 'This actually works.'"

Anchorage police officially opted in to the service in January, joining thousands of public safety agencies nationwide that can use the connection during emergencies and for everyday work like communicating by smartphone, routing officers to calls and looking up suspect information in the field. Agencies also can tie the network to apps, including a push-to-talk option that turns cellphones into high-tech walkie-talkies.

In Alaska, the network is seen as an emerging tool to connect emergency responders in a massive state with scores of tribal villages far removed from roads. High-speed internet has been built up in remote areas in recent years, but connecting rural communities is still a significant challenge, even with FirstNet.

The network is secure, encrypted and off limits to the public. But it has raised concerns among media advocates that the secrecy shields police and others from scrutiny as more agencies cut access to their traditional radio communications.

Both FirstNet and AT&T, which runs the high-speed system, say it's up to subscribers to open aspects of the network. The communications giant didn't know any agencies that have done so.

Launched last year, the network was established by Congress in 2012 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when some police and fire departments couldn't communicate over incompatible radio systems.

The First Responder Network Authority, an independent federal entity, oversees it with AT&T, which plans to invest $40 billion over its 25-year government contract.

he U.S. was the first to roll out a government-backed wireless network for first responders, and nations like Australia, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are studying FirstNet as they look to create similar services, spokeswoman April Ward.

Verizon has rolled out a similar service for first responders not tied to the government but would not say how many agencies have signed up. More than 7,250 departments nationwide have joined FirstNet, AT&T said.

"I would say it's the most important network in our country because it's serving our first responders who are taking care of us every day," said Chris Sambar, AT&T's senior vice president for FirstNet.

More than half of the system has been completed, Sambar said.

In Alaska, the five-year goal is to build the network to cover more than 90% of the population, but that still amounts to less than half of the state's far-flung tribal lands, according the FirstNet plan for Alaska. A half dozen rural hubs for scores of villages will be covered.

For now, nothing replaces Alaska's mobile radio network, said John Rockwell, a state official who worked on the plan.

"I really believe in FirstNet," he said. "It's just not there yet."

In cities like Anchorage, police have issued FirstNet-linked cellphones to officers and equipped laptops in patrol cars with mobile hotspots.

During a recent shift, Anchorage Officer T. Scott Masten used the network to look up photos that confirmed the identity of a man found sleeping in a car in a church parking lot. Previously, officers would have to drive to a substation to get that information.

"It makes my job easier; makes it much more efficient," Masten said.

n Seattle, firefighters use FirstNet for dispatch and for transmitting patient health care information, among other things. Port St. Lucie, Florida, police use it on multiple devices with no failures yet, Police Chief Jon Bolduc said. He's interested to see how it holds up in an emergency.

The small community of Whiteville, North Carolina, lost all connections except for FirstNet when Hurricane Florence hit last September, city emergency manager Hal Lowder said.

Even FirstNet started slowing down when officials tried to send large amounts of data, so they turned to an option available to all subscribers: equipment that turns a satellite signal into an LTE cell tower.

Whiteville officials relied on the push-to-talk app to communicate when all other systems were down. Lowder said the app doubles as a patrol radio system — at a fraction of the cost.

"It worked perfectly, even at slow speeds," he said.

FirstNet isn't urging responders to give up traditional radios, but that's the direction the market is heading, CEO Ed Parkinson said.

There's already a trend toward silencing police radios for the public. A growing number of agencies, including Anchorage police, have cut access to scanner radio traffic, citing safety concerns. The move eliminates a traditional resource and oversight tool for journalists and others.

FirstNet's lack of public scrutiny is raising concerns about further erosion to freedom of information rights.

J. Alex Tarquinio, president of the Society of Professional Journalists, believes a government-sanctioned service should include a portion that's open to the media.

"The government has an obligation — because this is a public service — to find a way to provide that information to journalists, so journalists can continue to cover incidents and emergency response in a timely way," Tarquinio said.

ISS SSTV Oct 9 and 10

Russian cosmonauts are expected to activate Slow Scan Television (SSTV) image transmissions on 145.800 MHz FM from the International Space Station on October 9 and 10

This is the schedule for the planned activation of the MAI-75 SSTV activity from the ISS.
- Oct 9 09:50-14:00 GMT
- Oct 10 08:55-15:15 GMT

Transmissions will be sent on 145.800 MHz FM in the SSTV mode PD-120. Once received, images can be posted and viewed by the public at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php

ISS SSTV uses a Kenwood TM D710E transceiver which is part of the amateur radio station located in the Russian ISS Service Module.

Please note that SSTV events are dependent on other activities, schedules and crew responsibilities on the ISS and subject to change at any time. You can check for updates regarding planned operation at:
ISS Ham https://twitter.com/RF2Space
ARISS Status https://twitter.com/ARISS_status
ARISS SSTV Blog https://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/
AMSAT Bulletin Board http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

ICQPodcast - Rola Masts and Handheld Radio Programming Guide

In this episode, Martin Butler (M1MRB/W9ICQ) reviews headphones from BHI Noise Cancelation Products, A Handheld Radio Programming Guide and we speak to Chris Taylor from Moonraker regarding Rola Masts, Network Radio and a Dual Band DMR Radio with Bluetooth Connectivity to any device.

ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS
We would like to thank Anne Marie Nugent and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

News stories include: -
• ARRL Online Auction
• Exercise Blue Ham 2019
• South Hampshire Repeater Group Launches 70cm ‘Internet Free’ Linking
• Netherlands - Changes to Ham Radio Call Sign Policy

WEEKEND EDITION: Another day in paradise...space weather news...

Putting together a new mantel for the fireplace...seashell return done on the miter box.

FCC takes decisive action against deliberate interference

The ARRL report a New York Radio Amateur — Harold Guretzky, K6DPZ, of Richmond Hill — is facing a $17,000 fine imposed by the FCC  
Guretzky was issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) on October 3 for causing intentional interference on a local repeater and preventing other radio amateurs from using it.

“Given his history as a repeat offender, this violation warrants a significant penalty,” the FCC said in the NAL.

The NAL recounted numerous complaints alleging that Guretzky was deliberately interfering with a repeater in Glen Oaks, New York. In June of 2017, the FCC issued a Warning Letter to Guretzky, advising him of the nature of the allegations against him and directing him to stop using the repeater going forward. Nonetheless, additional complaints were filed. In April 2018, agents from the FCC New York Enforcement Bureau office drove to Richmond Hill to investigate. Following an inspection of Guretzky’s station, the agents advised him in writing that he was prohibited from using the local repeater.

After the FCC received further complaints regarding Guretzky’s continued operation on the local repeater, an Enforcement Bureau agent again drove to Richmond Hill to investigate. The agent monitored the VHF repeater’s input and output frequencies and, after observing deliberate interference to other stations, used direction-finding techniques to identify the source of the transmission as Guretzky’s station.

Read the full ARRL story at
https://www.arrl.org/news/view/fcc-proposes-fining-new-york-radio-amateur-17-000-for-deliberate-interference

QSO Today - Frank Howell - K4FMH

Frank Howell, K4FMH, has a love for radio and electronics that goes back over 60 years, but is only now a recent licensee.

Frank serves as the ARRL Assistant Director of the Delta Division, and avid ham radio journalist, and podcaster.

He makes a great case for recruiting retired people into the hobby by the energy, volunteerism, and technical devotion that he discusses in this QSO Today.

Listen to the podcast

From amateur radio social club to 50 years of disaster response

Steve Landers KD4MNJ started with an amateur radio club that felt like family, led to participation in disaster response that continued through a lifetime of emergencies and disasters

The GovTech site reports:

Steve Landers was about 16 years old when he joined a group of amateur radio enthusiasts. He found a unique camaraderie within the group and deep desire to help those in need.
Those feelings still run deep, countless disasters and 50 years later.

Of that initial ham radio group, Landers said, “Basically it was a social club of two-way radio enthusiasts, but it didn’t take long to figure out that the main interest was the support of the civil aid unit.”

Landers has volunteered his services as part of the Macon-Bibb, Ga., Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Volunteer Group ever since, starting with dragging the Ocmulgee River for drowning victims to responding to fatal traffic accidents on the motorway, to responding to tornadoes, to participating in the response during the devastating floods of 1994.

Read the full story at
https://www.govtech.com/em/preparedness/From-Amateur-Radio-Social-Club-to-50-Years-of-Disaster-Response.html

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2188 for Friday October 4th, 2019

SATELLITE BECOMES AVAILABLE FOR AZORES HURRICANE COMMUNICATIONS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with a story of cooperation in the face of a yet another hurricane. While hams in the Azores activated their emergency network with the approach of Hurricane Lorenzo in the final days of September, AMSAT announced it was making amateur satellite AO-92 available as requested by hams in the Azores. The availability of the satellite helped bolster readiness, which also got a boost from HF operations, local analogue repeaters and DMR. The AO-92 satellite was launched in January of 2018. In an unusual occurrence, the hurricane crossed the Atlantic Ocean and was headed toward Europe as an extratropical cyclone, weakening somewhat enroute.

**

REMOTE PACIFIC ISLAND LIGHTS UP AIRWAVES

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The Tokelau (TOKE-ALLOW) expedition is active. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells us more about this team effort in the South Pacific.


JIM: The remote South Pacific Tokelau (pronounce: TOKE-ALLOW) Islands have come alive with a large international team of radio operators who are on the air as ZK3A until the 11th of October. The DXpedition, which is taking place a little more than 300 miles, or 500 kilometres, north of Samoa, was recently approved by the ARRL's Award Branch for DXCC credit. The hams are operating from the New Zealand territory using CW, SSB, Earth-Moon-Earth and various digital modes including PSK-31, FT8 and RTTY. Listen for them on 160 through 6 metres. The team comprises 19 operators from nine nations and four continents: North America, Europe, Oceania and South America.

Follow them on the website tokelau2019 dot com - and then start listening.

**
CALIF. LIBRARY GETS TO BOOK A RADIO DATE WITH SPACE STATION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Never mind going to the library to find a book - how about checking out a chat with an astronaut instead? For those details, we turn to Kevin Trotman N5PRE.

KEVIN: It's not unusual for the Sonoma County Main Library to bring the world to visitors: all the books, videos and other media in the Santa Rosa, California library deliver a universe of wisdom and experience. On the first of October, however, the library delivered the world via radio - a radio aboard the International Space Station operated by astronaut Ken Hague KG5TMV. In a telebridge contact sponsored by the Sonoma County Radio Amateurs and linked with the ARISS Telebridge Station K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland. Youngsters from the Santa Rosa Middle School got to ask the astronaut a range of questions, according to amateur radio club member Darryl KI6MSP.

The students, many of whom had been affected by the recent California wildfires, wanted to know how natural disasters, including the current crop of Atlantic hurricanes, looked when viewed from space - and what it felt like sitting aboard a rocket as it hurtled away from the earth.

Tim Bosma W6MU, director of the amateur radio ground station at the Santa Rosa Junior College, said the college's involvement in the ARISS contact helped spark the students' imaginations and hopefully increase their interest in science. Of course, if they're looking for any books on that subject, they'll be back at the library before too long

**
RSGB NAMES TOP WINNERS IN 'CLUB OF THE YEAR' COMPETITION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Three amateur radio clubs in the UK are feeling mighty proud right now. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us why.

JEREMY: The Radio Society of Great Britain has announced the top three winners in its National Club of the Year competition for 2018. Top honours went to the Hilderstone Radio Society in Region 10, followed by the Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club in Region 8. Third place went to Essex Ham in Region 12.

The Hilderstone society, which meets in Margate, notes on its website that it is a repeat award-winner, having previous received club of the year honours in its region for 2013, 2014, and 2015. The Bushvalley club has been meeting since 2008 and meets on the last Thursday of each month, according to its website. Essex Ham began in 2011 developing from a website created to assist new holders of Foundation licences and now supports local area clubs as well.

The awards were made at the society's National Hamfest held in Newark on the 27th and 28th of September.

**

OHIO AMATEUR INDUCTED INTO DAYTON BROADCAST HALL OF FAME

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Congratulations to Dayton, Ohio area broadcast veteran Terry Lafferty, W8WLW following his induction into the Dayton Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The radio amateur has more than 50 years as a commercial broadcaster. He is a veteran of WING, WHIO and WLW and most recently has been a news anchor at WPTW. Terry was inducted late last month.

**

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: While we're on the subject of commercial broadcasting, there's a welcome spot on the amateur bands where hams gather to share their stories about their lives as DJs in the 1960s. Let's hear more from Mike Askins KE5CXP.

MIKE: If you're a former commercial radio rock music DJ from the 60s who's rocking the airwaves now on the amateur frequencies instead, here are two opportunities for you to "REWIND" that classic tape. The 1960s Pop-Rock Music and TV Shows Net meets two nights a week and after check-in, you get to share and hear some Tales from Top 40 and engage in some friendly trivia competition with kindred spirits. The formally directed net meets Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time in the U.S. on the W7EI-L EchoLink Node and locally on the 147.220 repeater from Prescott, Arizona. It also meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m Mountain Standard Time in the U.S. on the KA7LFX-R EchoLink Node and locally on the 224.060 repeater from Tucson, Arizona.

The net began 12 years ago as a celebration of 60s era radio rock and pop as well as TV programming from that era. John N7LQR writes in a QRZ dot com forum that all hams are welcome but most especially former commercial radio DJs.

**

IN PURSUIT OF A NEW GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Satellite enthusiasts are being encouraged to share ideas for a new geostationary earth orbit satellite for hams - and a forum has begun just for them, as we hear from Neil Rapp WB9VPG.

NEIL: A new online discussion group has formed to explore progress in getting a geostationary earth orbit amateur radio satellite for the Americas. Participants track the progress of acquiring a transponder that would serve IARU Region 2, which is North and South America. This would give the region the kind of coverage that Europe and Africa presently have with QO-100, the Qatari (KAT-TARRY) satellite launched last November.

Bernard KC9SGV posted on the QRZ Forum that hams are encouraged to share images and links about their satellite ground station hardware as well as software and to share ideas about having a similar satellite for Region 2 hams to access
**

AUSTRALIAN CONTESTERS GET 2-BY-1 CALL SIGNS APPROVED

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Avid contesters in Australia were just given the green light to use two-by-one call signs. John Williams VK4JJW fills us in on what's involved.

JOHN: The Australian Communications and Media Authority has granted VK contest stations the right to use 2-by-1 call signs, according to the Radio Amateur Society of Australia. The call signs will be valid for 12 months and will be available for holders of Advanced licenses who are participating in contests.

RASA president Glenn VK4DU noted in a report on Southgate Amateur Radio News that a committee of experienced contesters from around Australia presented recommendations to the ACMA which agreed to make call signs available from VK-ZERO-A through VK-NINE-Zed, managed by the Australian Maritime College on behalf of the ACMA.

Glenn noted that holders of the 2-by-1 signs will be required to achieve at least 750 contacts in a 12-month period, participating in at least four contests. He said this would be considered proof of the holder's commitment to being an active contester.

**

SPECIAL CALL SIGN IN BELGIUM HONORS PRINCESS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: There's a royal birthday celebration planned in Belgium and hams can have their call signs reflect the occasion. Ed Durrant DD5LP has the details.

ED: Radio amateurs in Belgium are being permitted to use a special call sign prefix between the 25th of October and the 25th of December in recognition of the birthday of that nation's Princess Elisabeth, who will be 18 on October 25th. The "OR" prefix will be allowed as a replacement of the standard "ON" for all individual radio amateurs and clubs but excluding holders of shortened (contest) call signs. The decision was made by the Belgian Institute for Postal services and Telecommunications, granting an earlier request from the Royale Union of Belgian Radio Amateurs. The royale union has more than 2,800 members.

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Kris SP6DVP/3Z6V will activate the special event callsign 3Z50DVP to celebrate his 50th anniversary as a ham. He will be on the air from October 15th to April 30th of 2020. He will be using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL to his home callsign, direct, by the Bureau or LoTW.

Be listening for Maurizio, IK2GZU, who is operating from Tanzania while working at the new hospital and orphanage until October 28th. He is using the call sign 5H3MB while on the air on HF during his spare time. Send QSLs to IK2GZU, direct or by the Bureau. QSLs can also be sent to LoTW and eQSL.

Operators Ted JF1CCH and Eiji JQ1SUO will be active as JF1CCH/0 and JQ1SUO/0 from Sado Island on October 13th and 14th. Listen for them on various HF bands using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL to their home callsigns.

There is disappointing news for DX chasers awaiting the Dxpedition to Pajaros (puh-HAH-Ros) Rocks. It has been cancelled. A posting on DX World noted that Three G One DX (3G1DX) was denied the necessary permit to land on the island and all donations will be refunded.

In Kuwait, Abdallah, 9K2GS, will be active as 9K2K during the CQWW DX SSB Contest on October 26th and 27th. QSL via EC5AC or LoTW.

**

KICKER: COPYING THE CODE OF FRIENDSHIP

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Would you follow your own radio signals across an ocean to meet up with a ham friend you've known for 70 years? Kent Peterson KC0DGY tells us about one man who did.

KENT: The two became friends almost 3 generations ago - the retired TV engineer in the UK and the American doctor from Kentucky. Now Ted Trowell G2HKU is 96 and living in a care home on the Isle of Sheppey and physician Bill Maxson N4AR, who is 82, decided it was time for another eyeball QSO. It was to be their second in more than 70 years and their first in nearly 30. When Bill flew from the U.S. to see his friend in late September he also had a mission to accomplish: To present Ted with a certificate confirming his election as an Honoured Member of the World-wide First Class CW Operators Club, an international fraternity founded in the UK in 1938 to foster appreciation of the mode.

The two also had a lot of catching up to do: They had become friends over the air in the 1950s in conversations shaped by keyers and spelled out in CW. Later they took their ragchews to SSB, giving voice to their exchanges. That hasn't changed: Ted has been in a care home for a few years, according to several press accounts, but still keeps up with his hobby and his friend Bill. His room doubles as his shack and the home's managers permitted the installation of a wire antenna.

Let the logbook show that this special September QSO was a valid contact, achieved via the band of brothers with both operators using the greatest mode of all: person-to-person.

FCC Dismisses Three Petitions for Rule Making Filed by Radio Amateurs

ARRL

The FCC has dismissed petitions for rule making filed in 2018 by three radio amateurs. All of the petitions were put on public notice earlier this year and comments invited.

Edward C. Borghi, KB2E, of Farmington, New York, and Jeffrey Bail, NT1K, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, submitted very similar petitions seeking changes in how the FCC grants Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications. Borghi’s Petition (RM-11834), would have prohibited vanity applicants from requesting call signs not designated for the applicant’s geographical region, with exceptions under the rules governing call signs previously held by family members. Borghi complained that applicants had to compete with “out-of-area people for the few 1 × 2 or 2 × 1 or catchy 2 × 3 call signs available in their area of residence.”

Bail’s Petition (RM-11835) asked that the FCC give residential preference in competing applications to applicants whose listed FCC address is within the same district/region as the applied call sign. He cited limited availability and increased demand for 1 × 2 and 2 × 1 call signs. The FCC dismissed both petitions in a single letter.

“The Commission does not limit applicants for vanity call signs to requesting call signs assigned to the region of the applicant’s mailing address, except for call signs designated under the sequential call sign system for Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean Insular Areas, and Pacific Insular Areas,” the FCC pointed out. “When the Commission established the vanity call sign system in 1995, it rejected a proposal to restrict vanity call sign applicants to call signs designated for the region in which the applicant resides,” because it would restrict a given applicant’s choice of vanity call signs to 10% or less of those otherwise assignable.

The FCC also noted that a limitation based on an applicant’s place of residence “could easily be circumvented by using a mailing address in another call sign region.”

In denying the petitions, the FCC concluded that no need exists to require vanity call signs to correspond to a licensee’s mailing address, “given that call signs do not automatically change when a licensee moves, and a licensee’s mailing address is not necessarily the location from which he or she is transmitting.”

“The Commission rejected this proposal again in 2010 for the same reasons,” the FCC said. “The records before us do not demonstrate any changed circumstances or other reason that would warrant revisiting this decision.” The FCC further pointed out that vanity applications received on the same day are handled by a random selection batch process, making it impossible to identify in-region vanity call sign applications and process them ahead of other applications for the same call sign.”

The FCC also turned away a Petition (RM-11833) from Jerry Oxendine, K4KWH, of Gastonia, North Carolina, who asked the FCC to clarify that states and localities should have no authority to regulate Amateur Radio with respect to enacting “distracted driving” statutes. Oxendine argued that such statutes violate FCC rules on scope and operation of equipment by licensees; violate the intent of the FCC and Congress with respect to Amateur Radio’s role in disasters, and hinder emergency operations using mobile equipment.

In denying the request, the FCC took issue with Oxendine’s assertion that the strong federal interest in promoting Amateur Radio communication should preempt distracted driving laws. The FCC said it received about 20 comments supporting Oxendine’s petition.

“Laws that prohibit talking on handheld communications devices while driving do not preclude or unreasonably obstruct mobile use of handheld two-way radios,” the FCC said in denying Oxendine’s petition. “These laws apply to the use of handheld devices while driving. A driver can comply with these laws by using a hands-free attachment or by parking the vehicle prior to using a handheld device, both of which are contemplated by our rules regarding two-way radios.”

The FCC said, “The record before us does not demonstrate that state and local laws that prohibit talking on handheld devices while driving stand as an obstacle to amateur communications or actually conflict with federal law in any way.” The FCC further noted the lack of any express preemption or argument that Congress has “occupied the field” of regulation with respect to distracted driving statutes.

Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) Registration is “On Track”

ARRL

With just a couple of weeks to go before Scouting’s Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) event on October 18 – 20, JOTA Coordinator Jim Wilson, K5ND, reports that nearly 200 US stations have registered their intentions to participate.

“Over the last few years, we’ve typically had around 300 stations registered before the weekend,” Wilson told ARRL. “So, we’re on track.” Wilson noted that Icom America is providing an ID-51A Plus2 VHF/UHF D-STAR portable to encourage stations to submit after-event reports. A drawing will select the recipient.

“Band conditions aren’t expected to be any better than they’ve been for the past year, but the enthusiasm will be there,” Wilson predicted, “and local VHF-UHF can work as well as the D-STAR and [VoIP modes].” US participants wh

THURSDAY EDITION: How many hams in your town?.....A shame that B17 crashed in CT, that plane was visiting at the Beverly Airport a few towns away from here a few weeks ago. RIP to the passengers and pilots as well as the loss of a piece of military aviation history....I had a qso with Donnie Anderson- N4TAT in GA last night on 75 meters, quite an interesting character and was involved in the 14313 scene years ago. We talked about some of the main players of the time, cripes, they are almost all SK....

Bouncing ham radio signals off the Moon

Al Williams WD5GNR writes on Hackaday about bouncing amateur radio signals off the moon

One of the great things about ham radio is that isn’t just one hobby. Some people like to chit chat, some like to work foreign countries, some prepare for emergencies, and there are several space-related activities. There are hundreds of different kinds of activities to choose from.

Just one is moonbounce, and [Ham Radio DX] decided to replicate a feat many hams have done over the years: communicate with someone far away by bouncing signals from the moon.

Read his post at
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/01/bouncing-signals-off-the-moon/

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
Contact Opportunity

Call for Proposals
New Proposal Window is October 1, 2019 to November 30, 2019

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan.

The deadline to submit a proposal is November 30, 2019. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org.

The Opportunity
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.

An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact.

Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio.

More Information
For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org.

Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education@gmail.com .

About ARISS:
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.

WEDNESDAY EDITION: Liberal wingnuts in California fire ham radio.......Rain and foggy today, looks like a good day to get on the air for a bit....

Major enhancements to the Sotabeams Wolfwave

The WOLFWAVE Advanced Audio Processor offers a huge range of facilities to improve radio reception in difficult and noisy situations.

The latest firmware release for this innovative product adds new functionality for SSB and CW users as well as those with hearing difficulties.

The new binaural mode goes well beyond the simple "binaural" implementations in many transceivers (which is generally just a delay or phase shift) to deliver a truly immersive "sound field" for the CW operator.
Using an artificial head model, different tones appear to come from different directions, giving a whole new way for signals to be differentiated. Three separate modes are available to experiment with, each being fully adjustable.

SSB users had requested notch filtering for intereference such as ADSL carriers. SOTABEAM has implemented 10 notches with bandwidths as low at 100 Hz and very sharp edges. The notches are shown on the WOLFWAVES spectrum display making them easy to adjust for optimum performance.

Users with age-related hearing are already catered for with a sophisticated system that just requires them to enter their age and sex to benefit from a median hearing loss correction.

New with this firmware release is a left/right balance facility to help people with assymetric hearing loss.

The new firmware is available for all users to download at: www.wolfwave.co.uk/firmware

WOLFWAVE is available direct from SOTABEAMS in the UK and from agents in many other countries. Details at: www.sotabeams.co.uk/

IARU Administrative Council Steps Up Efforts to Combat Radio Spectrum Pollution

ARRL

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Administrative Council (AC) met on September 28 and 29 in Lima, Peru, to conduct a final review of IARU preparations for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19). The Council’s annual meeting took place just ahead of the triennial IARU Region 2 (IARU R2) General Assembly. Responsible for IARU policy and management, the Council consists of the three IARU international officers and two representatives from each of the three IARU regional organizations.

WRC-19’s lengthy agenda includes items of direct interest to the Amateur Service, including consideration of improvements to the 50 MHz amateur allocation in Region 1, protection of existing amateur allocations, and development of the agenda for the next WRC in 2023. IARU volunteers and member-societies have been working for the past 4 years — since WRC-15 — to influence proposals from national telecommunications administrations and regional telecommunications organizations (RTOs) that will be considered at WRC-19, which gets under way late this month in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

“IARU efforts have reduced the number of potentially damaging proposals that otherwise might have been offered for consideration, but several challenges remain,” IARU said in a news release. “A small team of IARU observers will attend WRC-19 and will work with amateurs and friends on national delegations to reach the best possible outcomes.”

Looking beyond WRC-19, the AC plans to increase its commitment to influencing the work of standards organizations, particularly the International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR) and its participating national committees. IARU cited “the rising level of radio spectrum pollution caused by unnecessary and unwanted emissions from electronic devices, such as wireless power transfer for the recharging of electric vehicles (WPT-EV), is a serious threat to radiocommunication services including the Amateur Service.”

Council participants engaged in an extensive discussion to identify the principal challenges facing Amateur Radio and how the IARU and its member-societies might better address them. Upgrading of the current websites of the IARU and its three regional organizations is under way and should be completed in the coming months. The AC also adopted a Brand Guide to ensure a common identity across the IARU organization.

The Council’s next in-person meeting will take place in October 2020, just prior to the IARU Region 1 Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia. Virtual AC meetings are also planned beginning in December 2019 and January 2020.

Attending the meeting were IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR; Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ; regional representatives Don Beattie, G3BJ; Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T; Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AM; Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK; Wisnu Widjaja, YB0AZ, and Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP. Region 2 Executive Committee member George Gorsline, VE3YV, attended as an observer. — Thanks to IARU Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ

A green flash on Venus

You've heard of green flashes on the sun. But green flashes on Venus? They're real, and now is a good time to observe them.

Venus is just emerging from solar conjunction. This means that seaside photographers can capture the rare flashes as Venus sinks into the waves not far behind the sun.

Pictures of an actual green flash on Venus and observing tips are featured on today's edition of Spaceweather.com

Bidding in ARRL Online Auction Begins on October 17

ARRL

More than 230 items will go on the block as bidding begins on Thursday, October 17, at 10 AM EST (1400 UTC) for the 14th Annual ARRL Online Auction. The auction will continue through Thursday, October 24, closing at 10 PM EST. An auction preview opens on Monday, October 14.

The 2019 auction includes lab-tested QST “Product Review” gear, vintage books, used equipment, and one-of-a-kind items, plus the ARRL Lab team has contributed four of its very popular “mystery boxes.”

Some premier “Product Review” items up for bid include the Elecraft KAP 1500 legal-limit HF and 6-meter linear amplifier, the Icom IC-7310 HF and 6-meter transceiver, the Palstar LA-1K 160 – 6 meter amplifier, the FlexRadio Systems FLEX-6400M HF and 6-meter SDR transceiver, and many more items.

The auction will also offer items donated from the popular television series Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen, an actual radio amateur who portrays the fictional Mike Baxter, KA0XTT, in the show, which has featured ham radio in some episodes.

Among book offerings in the auction are the “sold out” 2019 Handbook Boxed Set, a special defense edition of The Radio Amateur’s Handbook from 1942, and a 1949 ARRL Antenna Book.

Proceeds from the annual Online Auction benefit ARRL education programs. These include activities to license new hams, strengthen Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) training, offer continuing technical and operating education, and create instructional materials.

All bidders must register (your arrl.org user ID and password will not work on the auction site). If you have registered for a previous ARRL Online Auction, you may use the same log-in information. If you have forgotten your user ID or password, click on the “Help” tab for instructions on how to retrieve these credentials. Make sure your correct address and other information are up to date. The auction site only accepts Visa and MasterCard.

TUESDAY EDITION: That cruise ship that visited Cape Ann yesterday had 2000 tourists on it and a crew of 1000 and was 1000 feet long, quite a site!....

Decoding Numbers Stations article available free

The article Decoding Numbers Station by Allison McLellan which appears in the November 2019 issue of ARRL's QST magazine is available for free download

Download the article PDF from  
http://www.arrl.org/this-month-in-qst

Belarus Team Dominates 16th IARU High-Speed Telegraphy World Championship

ARRL

The team from Belarus dominated the 16th High-Speed Telegraphy (HST) World Championship in mid-September, sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Belarus came away with more than two-thirds of the medals, with several other countries’ teams sharing the rest. Representatives of 19 countries participated in the championship, which took place in Albena, Bulgaria, sponsored by the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs.

Belarus team member Stanislau Haurylenka, EW8GS, ran up a score of 291,597 points, to top the old world record of 288,671 in the male RufzXP category. The top speed achieved during the attempt was 943 characters/minute or 195 WPM. Teodora Karastoyanova, LZ2CWW, set a new female record in the event, with 293,877 points and a maximum speed of 943 characters/minute or 195 WPM. Last May, she set an official female record in the Romanian Championships with 286,944 points.

In all, 60 male and 30 female competitors took part in the events, which included reception of five letter/figure/mixed groups for a period of 1 minute according to the software provided, transmission of five letter/figure/mixed groups for a period of 1 minute, and “radio amateur practicing tests,” using RufzXP software for call sign receiving, and Morse Runner for pileup receiving.

The HST competition also includes entry categories for “young” males and females (age 16 and younger) and “junior’ males and females (up to age 21). Official results as well as the world record list are available online.

Hurricane Lorenzo: Radio hams in Azores respond

As hurricane Lorenzo approaches the Azores the amateur radio emergency network has been activated

Amateur Radios will be active with the Government and emergency response teams.

Local analog and DMR repeaters, both in VHF and UHF, satellites and HF.

We ask all stations to give way for emergency traffic coming in and out of the Azores islands (CU, CQ8, CR8, CS8 and CT8 prefixes).

WORKING FREQUENCIES:

VHF – Priority Communication Systems (Repeaters) – Faial Island
1 – VHF Repeater (R0) (Cabeço Gordo): 145,600; Shift: -600 kHz; Tone: 123 Hz (coverage Faial Island, Pico and S.Jorge)
2 – VHF (R7) repeater (Pico Verde): 145,775; Shift: -600 kHz; Tone: 123 Hz (west side cover Faial island)
3 – UHF Repeater (Cabeço Gordo): 438,800; Shift: -7.6 MHz; Tone: 123 Hz
4 – Alternative: direct frequency 145,500

UHF – DMR Digital Repeater
DMR Repeater – Faial Island (east side coverage of Faial Island and west of Pico Island)
RX Frequency: 438.300 TX Frequency: 430.700 MHz
Slot2 – TG 26867 (Faial)
Slot1 – TG268 for outdoor communications

HF – Inter-Island Links
1 – 80 meters – 3,760.00 MHz. – 3,770.00 MHz. – 3,750.00 MHz. (Inter-islands)
2 – 40 meters – 7,110.00 MHz. – 7,100.00 MHz. – 7,060.00 MHz. (Inter-island)
3 – 20 meters – 14,300.00 MHz. – 14,310.00 MHz. – 14,320.00 MHz. (Communications with the outside)


 



New England Hams you might run across 75 meters.........

K1TP- Jon....Editor of As The World Turns....
KB1OWO- Larry...Handsome Fellow ,Only cuts lawn in August, plows snow the rest in Jackman, Maine
W1GEK- Big Mike....Nearfest Cook, big motor home, electronics software engineer ...
AA1SB- Neil...Living large traveling the country with his girlfriend...loves CW
N1YX- Igor....peddles quality Russian keys, software engineer
K1BGH...Art.....Restores cars and radio gear, nice fella...
N1XW.....Mike-easy going, Harley riding kind of guy!
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can be found at most ham flea market ...Cobra Antenna builder..
KA1GJU- Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who cooks on the side at Hosstrader's...
 W1GWU-Bob....one of the Hosstrader's original organizers, 75 meter regular, Tech Wizard!!!
 K1PV- Roger....75 meter regular, easy going guy...
 W1XER...Scott....easy going guy, loves to split cordwood and hunt...
 WS1D- Warren- "Windy" - Bullnet
KB1VX- Barry- the picture says it all, he loves food!
KC1BBU- Bob....the Mud Duck from the Cape Cod Canal, making a lot of noise.
W1STS- Scott...philosopher, hat connoisseur,
KB1JXU- Matthew...75 meter regular...our token liberal Democrat out of VT
KA1BXB-Don....75 meter Regular......residing on the Cape of Cod, flying planes and playing radio
KMIG-Rick....75 Meter Regular....teaches the future of mankind, it's scary!
K1PEK-Steve..Founder of Davis-RF....my best friend from high school 
K9AEN-John...Easy going ham found at all the ham fests
K1BXI- John.........Dr. Linux....fine amateur radio op ....wealth of experience...
K1BQT.....Rick....very talented ham, loves his politics, has designed gear for MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim-  Retired Air Force Controller...told quite a few pilots where to go!
N1OOL-Jeff- The 3936 master plumber and ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce- Computer Tech of 3936...multi talented kidney stone passing ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod, construction company/ice cream shop, hard working man....
W1VAK- Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience in all areas, once was a Jacques Cousteus body guard....
K1BNH- Bill- Used to work for a bottled gas company-we think he has been around nitrous oxide to long .

Silent KeyVA2GJB- Graham...one of the good 14313 guys back in the day.
Silent Key K1BHV- David...PITA
Silent Key W1JSH- Mort...Air Force man
Silent Key K1MAN--Glen....PITA
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"- Low key gent can be found on many of the 75 meter nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ- Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts truck driver-retired
Silent KeyWB1DVD- Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy going, computer parts selling, New England Ham..
 Silent Key W1OKQ- Jack....3936 Wheeling and Dealing......keeping the boys on there toes....
 Silent Key W1TCS- Terry....75 meter regular, wealth of electronic knowledge...
Silent Key WIPNR- Mack....DXCC Master, worked them all!.. 3864 regular for many years...
Silent Key WILIM- Hu....SK at 92... 3864 regular for many years...
 Silent Key N1SIE- Dave....Loves to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD- Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10", of the 3864 group
Silent Key: W1FSK-Steve....Navy Pilot, HRO Salesman, has owned every radio ever built!
Silent Key: W4NTI-Vietnam Dan....far from easy going cw and ssb op on 14275/313
 Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill- Loved ham radio....